Machete
by BittersweetSemantics
Summary: The crew brings in a new member. Headstrong and witty, Daryl Dixon meets his match. While getting to know each other, she lets a couple of secrets slip. When Daryl puts two and two together, he learns that she may not be all she seems.
1. Chapter 1: Nicole

**Chapter 1: Nicole**

Daryl wheezed as the woman pushed her boot down harder on his throat. He struggled to stay conscious with the massive blood loss from his side while being painfully aware of the machete that was pointed directly between his eyes.

"I'm going to ask you again," The olive-skinned woman's eyes darkened with rage. "What. Are. You. Doing here?"

"I-I c-can't..." Daryl coughed. He was enraged now. There was no way this short bitch was going to get the best of him. "I CAN'T BREATHE!"

She finally released his neck only to sit on his stomach and hold the machete to his throat. "Try one thing, and I'll slit your jugular." She whispered. Her black hair fell over her eyes, masking the fact that she was slightly scared that he could easily flip her on her back and end it all.

"My name is Daryl Dixon," His Southern accent was thick with contempt. "and I didn't think there was any one else alive at this camp."

"You were mistaken. I'm the only one left. I need all of these supplies." She breathed heavily on top of him. "Empty that bag and give me back all of my things."

"Much obliged." He said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to need you to stop straddling me for that to happen."

She took one more look at him before swiftly climbing off.

Daryl stood up and grabbed his fallen crossbow. He held back a groan. She gave his side quite the slice. He then rubbed his neck where her foot had been not two minutes ago, scoffing at the woman in front of him. He walked towards the bag with intent on emptying it, when they both heard rustling coming from the woods.

As if on reflex, both held their weapons at the ready. Daryl looked behind him and found the woman ready to pounce on whatever has made their way to her campsite. Their eyes met, and a mutual understanding was found.

The woman nodded and met him at his side. They waited as the noise got closer. Daryl kept his finger at the trigger, ready to pull. The rustling got louder. Their muscles tightened.

Emerging from the foliage was a handsome man in a Deputy uniform and a small boy. The Deputy eyed the woman and shot a questioning look to Daryl. Daryl lowered his weapon.

"Put it down." He commanded the woman softly. Before replying, she saw the fear in the little boy's eyes. She followed suit.

"My name is Rick. Rick Grimes" He stepped a couple of feet forward to shake her hand. She reached hers out and shook it. "This is my son, Carl."

"Hello Rick. Carl."

"I see our friend Daryl tried raiding your campsite. Our apologies. We didn't think anyone resided here."

"They don't anymore. I'm the last one here."

Rick's friendly face suddenly turned into one of concern. "You're by yourself?"

"I have been for a week now. That is, before your friend here decided to try and take all of my supplies."

"Now wait one goddamn second-" Daryl started. A pain shot through his side and he fell forward. The woman walked off as Rick and Carl rushed to his aid.

"What happened?" Rick demanded.

"A machete." He groaned.

The woman walked back with bandages and a bottle of alcohol. She kneeled down next to him. Rick and Carl watched her from Daryl's other side.

"What in the hell are you doing?"

"Helping you. Now don't move." She undid his sleeveless shirt and poured some of the alcohol into his open wound. Daryl squirmed and groaned through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry for hurting one of your people. He's covered in blood and dirt, more so than anyone else I've seen, I mistook him for a walker."

"You have pretty terrible aim if you were tryin' to kill a walk-UGHHHHH!" Daryl groaned as the woman pressed harder than she should have on his wound.

"Is that too tight?" She asked with fake concern.

"Are you headed anywhere?" Rick ignored the whining coming from Daryl. The woman concentrated on nursing the wound before a simple, "No."

"You're more than welcome to join us. We have plenty of provisions along with transportation. With the looks of your site here...you may not have much of a choice."

Daryl looked from the woman to Rick, helpless.

"We'll need you. You may need us as well."

As she finished up wrapping his bandage, she sighed. "It would be nice to have other people to talk to, other than myself."

"Then it's settled. Let's help pack your things up. Our camp is just about 2 miles North of here." Rick pat Daryl's bare stomach, drawing out a flinch. "Once you're all patched up, maybe you can help...uh...I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

"Nicole. Nicole Ramos."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I do realize how SHORT this chapter is, I apologize, but I do hope you all review! I'll be posting a new chapter sometime tonight, just because starting a story is the worst thing for me. The second chapter will be longer, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2: An Acquired Taste

**Chapter 2: An Acquired Taste**

_"I don't know what to do," Nicole cried. "how am I supposed to-...you can't leave me."_

_"You have no idea how much you've already done," Simon whispered in her arms. He started coughing up blood. Nothing but carnage surrounded them. Dead bodies were scattered all over the camp. Nicole did everything she could to stop the bleeding on his shoulder. "You have to understand, none of this-...none of this..." His voice got softer as he coughed up more blood. She was hysterical. "...is your fault. It was only...only a matter of t-time. Th-this is o-our extinction. Humans a-are-"_

_"Shh...I know. Simon...please...I won't be able to carry on."_

_"You are-are the strongest...woman I know," his voice was gettting weaker. "Survive. You d-don't deserve to die like this."_

_Nicole held Simon in her arms and let the tears fall. She rested her forehead against his, sniffling. "Neither do you," She stroked his cheek and kissed his forehead._

_"Make it quiet," He requested. "they'll hear."_

_Nicole wrapped her fingers around Simon's hunting knife that clung to his belt. "I love you."_

* * *

><p>"Hey,"<p>

Nicole blinked away from the fire she had just started and looked up. Daryl walked towards her slowly. Her eyes drifted to the wound she gave him three days ago, and smirked. "How goes the healing?"

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"Just a question."

"You cut me pretty deep. It'd be healing a lot faster if I didn't have an arrow lodged in there about a couple of weeks ago...or a month. Hell, I don't care much for keeping track of days."

"An arrow? From your own crossbow?"

Daryl sat down beside her and stared at the fire. "A horse bucked me off and I fell on my arrow." This brought out a snort from Nicole. He turned sharply toward her.

"I'm sorry, that's not funny at all." She covered up, unconvincingly. A smile tugged at her lips as she stared at the fire in front of her. She picked up a stick and started poking at kindling. Daryl watched as the light softly bounced off her skin. He followed her hand tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Did you need something from me?"

"Hm?"

"Did you need something from me? You came out here for a reason, right?"

"I caught the fire from outside my tent. I was just making sure you were doin' it right."

Nicole's brows furrowed. "'Doing it right'? Are you insinuating that I'm not capable of making a fire?"

"Thas' exactly what I meant. Not many of the women-folk around here know how to survive in the big bad woods."

"So I'm women-folk now?" She started poking at the kindling more furiously.

"You ARE a woman..." Daryl started. "In my experience, women don't know much about the world outside a mall. Especially you city women."

"And what makes you think I'm from the city?"

"The accent. Personally, I'm surprised you don't have that ching-chong accent most of you Chinafolk have."

"I'm Filipino." she snapped.

"So a Mexican Chinese WOMAN. You're not making a very strong argument here."

Nicole looked around, confused. "Did you just hear that?"

Daryl's face turned serious. "What?" He looked at the direction Nicole was looking. "What did you hear?"

"...Oh. Never mind. I thought I heard the rest of your Klan galloping through the woods. God, that would've been a slight inconvenience."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Don't start getting all snippy on me."

"I just didn't realize we were back in 1922. My apologies."

"Listen, you women always have to get so defensive about everythin'. Goddamn, all the women here are just so damn hormonal. MY apologies, I didn't realize that the end of the world meant never-ending menstruation."

"What kind of misogynistic view is that? It's just like if I were to judge you based on your accent." She finally turned to him and put on an exaggerated Southern Accent. "This redneck hick must do nothin' but shoot squirrels and drink Budweiser. After a long day shoppin' over at that there Wal-mart, he'll go home to his trailer, kick off his shoes, change into his night-time sleeveless shirt, and kiss his cousin goodnight."

Daryl stared at her in disbelief. He scratched the corner of his mouth with his thumb and took a long pause. Nicole awaited his retort, her eyes concentrated on his lips.

"What? Can't take the heat? You should probably get out of the kitchen. It's my domain anyway, isn't it?" She teased.

A smile slowly approached his lips. "Touche'. You have a pretty sharp tongue on ya.'"

"That I do." Nicole let her guard down and started digging a small hole with the end of her stick.

It was quiet for a moment before Daryl spoke again. "Maybe instead of yakkin', you put that tongue to better use." Before he knew it, the stick connected to the front of his face and he fell backward laughing. "Ah! ...I was kiddin', girl!"

"You are nothing short of revolting." She muttered as she threw the stick down at him and walked away.

"Oh come on," He called out, picking up the stick and bearing the pain at his side. "You can't possibly be mad at me for all that!" Getting up, he moved to follow her. "Now hold on, you basically called me an incestuous alcoholic redneck. You dished it out just as much as I did, don't get your panties in twist."

"Don't think for one second that you had any affect whatsoever on my panties, Dixon." She replied, unzipping her tent.

"Did ya have dinner yet?"

Nicole stopped in her tracks and turned her head toward Daryl. "...What?"

"Did ya eat? I came out here to cook up some squirrels. You're the only one still awake." He walked into his tent and came out almost immediately with a string of squirrels. "I didn't see you eat anythin' all day."

Nicole scoffed as she watched him walk back towards the fire. "Why, have you been watching me?"  
>"Don't flatter yourself, girl. You'll be completely useless if you pass out from hunger. Do yourself and your crew a favor and take in some protein."<p>

She considered the offer. It was true, she hasn't eaten all day. But..squirrel? She let her eyes drift from the squirrel to Daryl. He was looking up at her, exasperated that she hasn't moved.

"If you're not going to do the laundry or cook for anyone, you might as well keep your energy up for hunting tomorrow."

Nicole shivered as she walked towards him.

"What's the matter? Cold?" He asked as she sat down next to him.

"No, I just got douche-chills."

Daryl chuckled softly as he cut and prepared the squirrel. "Go get me a pot of water so we can boil 'em."

"I've never had squirrel."

"Like most things that you'll come across nowadays," He started as he expertly cut the squirrel up and discarded the inedible bits. "it's an acquired taste."

Nicole thought she caught a flash of a smirk played upon those lips before she stood up and followed his directions. This was the longest conversation she's ever had with Daryl. He usually kept to himself. The strong, silent type. However, that was not the case whenever he disagreed with someone. It was close to impossible to shut him up. As irritating as that boy was, she couldn't help but feel he was the only one who she could talk to. Even the Asian delivery boy, Glenn, made a comment about how he rarely talked to anyone.

She would never admit it, but Daryl intrigued her. She's caught him several times, staring at her from across the camp. The reason was unknown, but she figured it was an issue of trust.

But that was OK.

_I wouldn't trust me either._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **There's your second chapter! I hope you guys get into the story! Please review and let me know what you think. Feedback means a lot to me, and will help drive me to give you a third, even longer chapter!


	3. Chapter 3: Splash

**Chapter 3: Splash**

"Nicole!"

Nicole wiped the bead of sweat trickling down her temple and turned around. Carl was running towards her with a workbook in hand. She abandoned her efforts at hanging laundry and smiled at the out of breath boy.

"What can I do for you, Carl?"

"Can you help me with my homework? I didn't do the quiz part!"

Nicole curiously fingered through Carl's workbook. "Homework? You still have homework?"

"Yeah, Mom wants to make sure I stay educated. I have fun with it, though. She says that if I were still in school, I'd be years ahead of everyone!" he beamed.

"I believe her," she replied, taking a look into the page he had bookmarked. "You're a very clever...kid..." her voice trailed as she read the subject he was studying. "Neurobiology? You're studying this?"

"It's the only book on science she found. I'm real good at English and Reading. Math and Science is more of a struggle," he paused. "But I wish I didn't tell Mom that. Maybe she would stop trying to make me better at it."

She chuckled and kneeled down to ruffle his hair. "Luckily for you, Math and Science are my best subjects."

With that, Carl followed Nicole to a table nearby and sat him down. Not too far away, Daryl was putting on a fresh shirt to go hunting.

"Let's start with question 1," Nicole started. " There are many neurological disorders out there. What disease would you be suffering from if I were to demyelinate your axons?" she raised her eyebrow at the question. "Jesus, I didn't learn this till my second year in college..."

"I wanted to say Parkinson's Disease." Carl started. Nicole looked up at him, wide-eyed. "But Multiple Sclerosis seemed to make more sense."

Carl was almost more educated than some of the men she went to college with. His mom and dad did a fantastic job in raising him. Still are.

"AY!"

She cringed at the call and heard footsteps approaching. "Why don't you think about that for a second while I talk to Daryl, sweetie?"

Carl started grinning. "Ooohhhh..."

"Ah ah ah," Nicole tapped his nose. "You're not going to start that with me, are you?"

Carl thought for a moment. "It's Multiple Sclerosis." he took his pencil and workbook and circled the correct answer.

"Yes. Yes it is..." She said softly, still impressed by his knowledge.

"What are you doing?" Daryl asked, hovering over her and Carl.

"Helping Carl with his homework."

"Are you coming with me or not? These deer aren't going to hunt themselves."

Carl's face paled as he looked up from his workbook. "You're going to hunt deer?" His pencil shook slightly.

Daryl looked down at him, stone faced. "No...no, that's just an expression. We're still bringing back some squirrels. Fish, if we're lucky."

Carl lit up again and looked down. "'With regards to axoms of dorsal column med-medial...medial lemon-...lemisnis..."

"Medial-lemniscus." Nicole finished. Daryl glanced at her.

"Medial-lemniscus...pathway for sending somatic information to the brain: where do these axoms cross the midline?" Carl tapped the back of his pencil against the wooden table beneath it. Daryl took a look at his book.

"Mind if I take a look?" he drawled.

"Sure!" Carl handed the book to him. "What do you think, Daryl? Do they cross almost immediately? At the spinal cord?"

Daryl's face was contorted with confusion as he struggled with Carl's question. "Uhh...hm...they...the spinal cord." He answered as he tossed it back on the table. Carl looked to Nicole for confirmation.

She shook her head. "They cross at the level of the brain stem."

Carl smirked at Daryl and circled in her correct answer.

Nicole began to explain as if she were on auto-pilot. "See, the dorsal column medial-lemniscus pathway is a way to send somatic information from the upper body, lower body, and parts of the head to the somatic sensory cortex. That information remains..." her voice trailed off as she cleared her throat. Too much. TOO MUCH.

Carl stared at Nicole blankly. Daryl mirrored his expression.

"Sorry."

Daryl slowly backed away to his tent. Nicole laughed to herself and played with the corner of the workbook. Carl was immersed in the questions and trying to figure them out himself. What a devilish coincidence. Out of all the subjects he needed help on...

Her mind drifted off to Daryl. God Almighty. He was going to want an explanation. She could tell them about that part of her life without giving away too much.

"Oh! Nicole, were you helping Carl out with his homework?" Nicole's attention was brought to Lori, who was holding a basket of the camp's laundry. "Thank you so much, you didn't have to go and do that."

"It was no trouble, Lori. This has been enlightening. Carl has an incredible mind."

"He really does. So much that sometimes he makes me lose mine." She joked. She began to hang some wet clothes.

"Do you need any help with that?"

"I'm fine, darling. I know that Daryl was going to take you hunting today though," She shot her a knowing look. "he must be waiting for you."

What the hell is going on with everybody? What was this look that everyone gave her whenever her and Daryl were mentioned? What has Daryl been telling everyone? It's only been four days.

"I told him I was helping Carl out."

"Please, go ahead with Daryl. I'll take it from here. He gets mighty impatie-"

"-NICOLE!"

"...-ent." Lori chuckled and waved her hand to tell Nicole to hurry. Nicole rolled her eyes and stroked Carl's hair before she left.

Storming into Daryl's tent, she found him cross legged, gathering up his arrows.

"Goddamn it woman, are you finally done?"

"Can you be anymore rude? I told you I was helping Carl."

Daryl scoffed. "There obviously ain't no reason to do all that brain stem learnin' shit. I don't understand why Rick and Lori don't just teach Carl basic survival. Basic shooting, huntin'...it's more useful now than ever. What is he going to do? Send some big corporate company a resume describing all the stuff about science and reading he knows?"

"It's not that at all. It's the sense of normalcy. If Lori keeps Carl busy with schoolwork, it doesn't feel like the world has gone to hell. Plus, it wouldn't hurt him to keep learning. Let's not all become savages."

Daryl stood up and swung the crossbow over his shoulder. He neared Nicole slowly, getting so close that she could see every grain of stubble on his chin. She kept her own chin turned upwards, challenging him. His eyes glazed with something she couldn't distinguish.

"...Are you calling me a savage, Ramos?"

"Don't be so sensitive, Dixon. It's unbecoming."

She caught his eyes move to her lips quickly. Just a glance. Not enough to say anything, but lingered longer than she felt comfortable with. Heat was radiating off someone. She couldn't tell who. He spoke.

"Where's your machete?" he asked softly.

"In my tent." Her voice shook slightly.

"Can't go out without that," he said. "Never know what will come at you in those woods." He moved passed her to get to the exit of his tent.

"Is that a threat?"

"We're burning daylight, girl!"

"Shut up, it's 10am."

* * *

><p>Daryl led Nicole through the woods he knew so well. They haven't caught many things yet. Two squirrels each in fact. Nicole was practically begging Daryl to stop the hunt and just go fishing. They'd have better luck.<p>

"Fish won't be bitin' today," he would say. "not the season."

Bull. Shit. Winter wouldn't be the season to fish. But it was a beautiful Spring day and she could practically hear the fish splashing around.

"Can we make a trip to the lake anyway? I haven't cleaned myself up in days."

Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned to Nicole. "Look at me. Do you think I'm concerned with how clean any one is?"

"I smell like death. And come to think of it, you do too."

"Less likely for us to be attacked by walkers then right?" He smirked.

"I'm taking a bath, Dixon. And you can come with me or not, I'll be at the lake. If I don't see you there, I'll meet you back at the camp."

Nicole walked past him and didn't hear any footsteps following. As she cut down some of the branches and bushes that got in her way, her mind wandered. She was growing to like the new group she was in. Rick and Lori were incredibly sweet and she fell in love with Carl. Dale was like the father she never knew. Glenn and T-Dog, like brothers. Andrea had a tough exterior and didn't talk much to her. The most Andrea ever said to her was "Is that machete all you have?" When Nicole nodded, Andrea handed her a gun. "You're going to need a lot more than that." she said. She never got to meet Carol and Sophia. From bits of conversation and mourning, she could deduct what had happened to them.

And Daryl...she couldn't quite figure him out.

Was this how it was going to be from now on? She would just migrate from group to group until Earth has finally decided that enough was enough?

Simon could've said whatever he wanted at that moment to try and convince Nicole that it wasnt her fault. But in all reality, it was. It was her theory. Her experiment.

_Oh thank God._ She stopped in front of a clear blue lake. It looked untouched. Beautiful. Before she knew it, she stripped down to her underwear and was submerged in the crispest water she had ever felt. She did a backstroke all the way to the middle of the lake before deciding to merely float. The sun was softly beating down on her body and she didn't want this moment of serenity to end.

Unfortunately...

_SPLASH._

* * *

><p>Jaybird0508: Thank you for being my one and only reviewer! Haha I'm glad you like the story so far. I'm a little weak in writing right now so I'm trying to dust the cobwebs off. Bear with me! And this does take place during season 2.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: Apocalypse Chicken

**Chapter 4: Small Talk**

Nicole lay still floating, but fully aware. She tried to distinguish the pattern of these splashes; was it more than one person? Did this person know how to swim? ...Was this person alive?

The swimming was getting closer. She regretted not bringing her weapon with her. She regretted letting her guard down.

A grunt.

_Shit_.

She submerged herself underwater and swam as close to land as she could. As she opened her eyes, she saw the tattered clothing and the decomposing legs. She felt the water becoming more shallow and took a deep breath of fresh air. Her machete was just a few feet away. Two walkers were coming at her, as well as the one making it's way back to shore. Grabbing her machete, she charged at one of the walkers, slicing straight down the middle of it's head. It grabbed her arm and refused to let go. The other walker got a slice to it's arm, for the weight on her own compromised her aim. The walker was hanging from her like dead weight. The other still trying to get it's first bite out of her shoulder. It finally made it close enough for Nicole to take her machete and drive it up its chin, through it's brain. She closed her eyes and mouth tightly to prevent any of it's blood getting to her system. She pushed him off and sliced off the hand that was tightly wrapped around her arm.

"Goddamn it!" She mumbled.

She heard a groan coming from behind her. The third walker was drenched and was closer than she anticipated. Instinctively backing up, an arrow grazed past her and shot through it's left eye. The walker fell and she caught her breath.

Rustling came from behind her and she turned around again, machete at the ready. Daryl moved branches out of the way and shook his head.

"You see what happens when you wander...off?" Daryl looked Nicole up and down quickly. Clad in nothing but a gray bra and black cotton panties, she was soaked from head to toe. He covered up by wiping the sweat dripping down his nose. "What the hell were you intendin' on doin' to these walkers by takin' off all your clothes?"

Nicole put her machete down and ran her hand through her wet hair. "You know I came here to wash off, Daryl." She walked around searching for her clothes. Why weren't they near her machete where she had left them?

"What are you looking for?"

"My clothes. Have you seen them?"

"Nah. I'm sure we all prefer you this way, anyway."

Nicole shot him a dirty look before going back on her search. It didn't make any sense. Walkers don't steal clothes.

...But crossbow wielding hillbillies may.

She turned to him. Catching a glimpse of him eyeing her ass as she was bent over, she asked, "How long were you here before you killed off that last walker?"

"I just got here."

"You weren't here beforehand?"

"No, what do you think I am, a pervert or something?"

"You've been talking to me for about 2 minutes now and not once have you looked me in the eye."

His gaze shifted from her chest to her face. A boyish smile appeared out of no where. "I ain't gonna apologize for bein' a man, Nicole."

"So what am I supposed to do? Walk back to camp like this?"

Daryl sighed and took off his crossbow. He then unbuttoned his shirt and handed it to her. "If you're going to be whinin' the entire time, just take it."

Nicole looked at the shirt and begrudgingly accepted it.

He watched as she buttoned it slowly. "They already think we're sleeping together. Might as well fan the flames."

She paused for a second and finished off the buttons. She approached Daryl slowly. She didn't know exactly what she was doing, but merely saying "thank you" just wasn't enough. He flinched at how close they were. She searched his eyes as he blinked and tried to break contact. He didn't seem to like it when she had the upper hand.

"...Thank you."

He looked down and her and tried to keep her gaze for as long as he could. "...Yer' welcome." Before he knew it, his breathing became more labored and Nicole moved closer to him. That third walker was very close to ending it all for her. After all she's been through, that would've been a weak way to go.

Daryl moved in and tentatively snaked a hand around her waist, testing the waters. Seeing that as an invitation, she placed a hand on his chest. Running a finger over the tattoo that was right above his heart. She felt it beat harder against her finger.

"Who's Norman?" She whispered.

"My grandfather. He died when I was a little boy."

"I'm sorry."

"Wasn't your fault." His other hand made its way to her cheek, brushing her wet hair away from her face. His calloused hand felt amazing against her cold wet skin. She found herself leaning in to it more. She ran her hand up and down his chest and brought her other hand around his slender waist. She gently scratched against his lower back. He inhaled sharply and his grip on her waist tightened. His hand that was on her cheek made is way around her neck.

Their lips hovered apart for a while. Daryl tried to bring her in even closer, but it was impossible. He held her against him, refusing to loosen his grip. He slowly trailed his hand from her neck to her back and started massaging it.

Finally, Nicole stopped. She brought her hand to his face and ran her thumb against his lips. He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

"We should get back to camp." She whispered.

He opened his eyes slowly and briefly licked her thumb. "You're right. Don't want them gossipin' about us, do we?"

With that, he pulled away and grabbed his crossbow from the ground. He swung it around his body and picked up Nicole's machete as well. The dark, brooding exterior came back when he flipped the machete over so she could accept the handle. Taking it in her hands, they held each other's gaze for a moment before Daryl signaled her to follow him back to camp.

* * *

><p>The walk back was mostly silent, Daryl stopping her occasionally to catch some squirrels. By the time they were almost back to camp, their four squirrels doubled to eight.<p>

She couldn't explain what happened. Hell, it was like a game of Apocalypse Chicken. They both knew they were going to die. Why not just have their way with each other?

"That was the closest I've been to a women in a very long time." Daryl started.

"Did you have a girlfriend pre-walker?" she asked, deciding to go along with wherever he was taking this.

"No," he replied. "never had one."

"So...does that make you a-"

Daryl laughed. "Far from it, girl. Just because I was never romantically involved with anyone, doesn't mean I'm a virgin."

"Of course it doesn't." Nicole mumbled. What was his point? "Where are you going with this, Dixon?"

"How did you know so much about Carl's homework?"

Quick subject change. "I majored in neurobiology and dabbled in neurochemistry in college."

"Huh," He mumbled. "So the city girl has book smarts and a little street smarts." He wiped his face with the rag hanging from his pants. "Who'da thunk?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Where the hell did you come from, Nicole Ramos? Who were those people you were with before us?"

"Why the sudden interrogation?"

"Small talk to avoid what happened at the lake." He turned his head back to her and she could've sworn he let slip a sly little smile.

But suddenly, he held his arm out to stop her. His breathing slowed and the grip on his crossbow tightened. Nicole could see his muscles tense. She held up her machete in response. She turned around so they were back to back.

A twig snapped.

Their heads whipped around, trying to find the source of the sound. It was deadly quiet however. whatever it was stood completely still now.

"Who's there?" Daryl yelled.

"I can't see anything." Nicole whispered. "We should just leave."

"Hell no," he replied. "And lead whatever is following us back to camp?"

"It's probably just another squirrel."

"Sounded heavier than a squirrel."

They stood back to back waiting for a sign of life. None. Nicole put her machete down and faced Daryl, who was still anticipating an attack. She rolled her eyes and walked past him.

"Why is it so hard for you to follow instructions?" He called.

* * *

><p>Nicole was using a cloth to clean her machete. Night had fallen and the rest of the crew chowed down on the squirrels that she and Daryl had brought back.<p>

"Not hungry?" Glenn asked as he took a seat next to her.

"Nah," she replied, stroking the blade with the cloth. "One squirrel is enough for me."

"I've noticed you and Daryl haven't spoken since you guys got back from your hunt."

"Nothing to say, really." she said casually.

Glenn stared at her until she grew uncomfortable. Her eyes darted to him and she sighed. "What?"

He grinned. "What happened out there?"

"Now what makes you think anything happened out there?"

"Look," Glenn started, glancing at Daryl from across the fire pit. "we're not stupid. You came back half naked wearing his shirt. He, conveniently, shirtless. Frankly, our only form of entertainment is seeing you two interact. And between you and me," his voice dropped. "there's a pool going on on when you two are going to bang."

Nicole couldn't help but laugh louder than she intended to. She saw Daryl's head shoot up in her peripherals. She chose not to look at him. "Nice to know the group has somewhat accepted me."

"Not somewhat. We all do. We also all think all Daryl need is some lovin'. And we think you can give it to him."

"Are we back in high school, Glenn? Come on, I met the man less than a week ago."

"Doesn't mean you wouldn't want a little..._squeaky-squeaky-squeaky..._" Glenn imitated.

Nicole stared blankly at him. Glenn took off his baseball cap and buried his face in his hands. "I am so ashamed of you."

"I know." he mumbled.

They shared a moment of silence before Glenn spoke again.

"That was supposed to be a bed-"

"I know." she finally got all the geek blood out of her machete and smiled at her reflection in satisfaction. Her smile slowly fell. "You bet on it happening today didn't you?"

"I have a lot riding on this! C'mon, I'll split it with you!"

"What the hell could you guys be betting anyway? I can't imagine you guys would be playing this with Monopoly money."

"Even better. Chocolate and cigarettes."

"...Are you shitting me?"

Before Glenn could defend himself, Shane's voice rang through the camp.

"WALKER! WALKER!"

Nicole grabbed her machete and made sure her hand-gun was strapped securely to her belt. Her and Glenn ran towards Shane; Daryl and Rick in tow. Shane looked through binoculars and observed a figure limping toward them.

"Do you guys get stray walkers here often?" Nicole asked.

"This is the first one in days." Glenn answered.

"It's starting to become more frequent, though." Rick added. "What's the verdict, Shane?"

Shane paused before looking down at all of us. "Get that sum'bitch."

The four of them sprinted forward towards the figure. They got about 10 feet closer before the three men stopped. Glenn pulled Nicole back cautiously.

"What?" she asked breathlessly. "What is it?" She stared at the walker in front of them. Why was no one attacking it?

"Well, well, well...if it isn't my old friends."

..._Walkers don't talk._

"Oh, Christ." Glenn moaned.

Daryl stepped forward and shook his head. "There ain't no way...No..."

"It's nice to see you too, little brother."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Thank you guys for putting my story on alert and for reviewing! I would appreciate more reviews though...there has to be more than three people reading this...right? Haha. Just so I know who reads this, how about if I get 10-15 reviews, I will have two chapters up in one day?


	5. Chapter 5: A Proposal

**Chapter 5: A Proposal**

"I didn't know Daryl had a brother." Nicole said to Andrea.

"We all tried to forget. He got left behind in Atlanta a while back." she replied. They had all gathered by the fire while Merle told his story. All the while, he kept a keen eye on the girls.

"Once that cube van broke down, ol' Merle had no other choice but to walk. I've been trackin' y'all for miles. Would've never found y'all if it weren't for a minor slip-up..." he smiled mischievously at Nicole, who couldn't hide her confusion. "Speaking of..." he went into his backpack (she just realized he was missing a hand) and threw over some familiar looking clothes.

"You forgot these, girly."

Nicole picked up the clothes she was wearing earlier that day. "Son of a bitch..." she whispered.

She looked up at Daryl, who now had a distinguishable scowl on his face. He glared his brother down, willing him to not say anything. Unfortunately, Merle glanced at him and let out a slow chuckle. "You're a pussy, boy. And here I thought I raised you to be a man."

Nicole felt all eyes on her. "What?" she asked. "I told you all someone took my clothes! Thank you for bringing them back, by the way." she added sarcastically.

"No, thank YOU." He winked. Nicole felt herself gag. Daryl broke a twig in half and threw it in the fire.

"I'm going to go to bed," he mumbled. "Merle, I still got your cot in my tent, if you wanted."

"Where the hell did you expect me to sleep, little brother? Unless," he turned his head to face Andrea and Nicole. "these lovely ladies needed big strong man to keep them warm tonight."

"Ugh," Andrea groaned and stood up. "I'll keep watch for this shift. Something tells me I won't sleep well tonight anyway."

Nicole watched as she walked away. She looked over at Merle one more time and cringed when he licked his lips suggestively and raised his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes making sure he got a good view of her machete before making her way to her tent. Everyone else departed as well, no one very excited that Merle was in fact, back from the dead.

About two hours passed as Nicole was getting ready to turn in. She then noticed someone's shadow approaching her tent. She slowly grabbed her machete. "Who is it?"

"Open up," a husky whisper came from the other side. "It's Merle."

She kept her machete in her hand, exasperated as to what he wanted now. "What is it?"

"I'm not going to talk to you with this between us, girly. Might as well unzip it."

She unzipped it impatiently. "What?"

"Listen here, Geisha," he looked down at her intently. "I don't know if you're planning on bumpin' uglies with my brother or not, but I think the time for blackmail is now."

Nicole looked around outside before looking back up at Merle. "...Excuse me?"

He chuckled. "You gonna let me in? It's gettin' mighty cold out here."

"I'm not letting you in anywhere." Her voice dropped. "What are you even talking about?"

"I know who you are," he said in a sing-song voice. "and what you did..." He clicked his tongue in a disapproving way. "Everyone is going to be so disappointed in you."

Her eyes became sharp and her grip on her machete tightened. It was impossible. Merle looked like he had problems with basic addition and subtraction. There was no probable way that he could comprehend half the things she was taking responsibility for.

"You're bluffing."

"Yer' curious." He hooked his thumb around his belt. "But I can keep quiet if you keep my mouth busy." he leered.

Nicole opened her mouth to say something but saw Daryl come out of his tent in a haste. A glimmer of danger was evident from where she stood.

"MERLE!" he growled.

Merle leered at Nicole one more time before turning his neck halfway to give his little brother attention. "Can I help you with something, little brother?"

"What in the hell are you doin'?"

"Just proposing a deal to Sweet Lips here," he said casually. "You couldn't seal it. Thought I'd help out."

"Merle," Daryl started. Nicole watched him become more and more angry. She had never seen him like this before. "leave her alone."

Merle chuckled. "Oh come one, if she can organize Pearl Harbor, she can handle me."

"Oh Goddamn it, I'm Filipino!"

"Why don't you go back to bed?" Daryl moved in closer to Merle. "Must be tired from all that travelin'."

"Found a couple of interesting things durin', though." Merle smirked at Nicole before finally backing up. "But I can take a hint. Do the damn thing." He winked at her before going back to Daryl's tent.

Nicole's heart was beating furiously. She swallowed hard. Was white trash like Merle going to ruin everything?

"Hey," Daryl stood in front of her, his anger being replaced by genuine concern. "are you ok?"

Who's to say Merle wouldn't go tell Daryl everything the second he got back to his tent? She was sure that Merle was one to slowly torture someone until he got what he wanted. But she couldn't risk it.

There was still a lump in her throat when she spoke. "...I'm not a fan of his."

"Did he touch you at all?" He asked, that glimmer coming back.

She hesitated. "...No. Just made me extremely uncomfortable."

Daryl wiped the side of his mouth with the back of his hand, looking like he was trying to control himself. "He's the only family I got left," he started. "but if he does anything out of line...I'll take care of it."

He turned to walk back into his tent. Before Nicole could stop herself, she said out loud, "Stay with me." She closed her eyes, anticipating his reaction, hoping he didn't hear. When she opened them, Daryl was already facing her.

"What?"

"Please?" she finished.

He looked around before taking a couple of hesitant steps forward. "You don't seem like the kinda girl who needs someone lookin' after her."

"No," she agreed. "I'm...I'm just not in the mood to spend the night alone. Merle just...shook me up a little."

"He's not going to come near you tonight."

"I know, but can you just please stay with me, Daryl?" she borderline begged.

Nicole knew how this sounded. She didn't care. She couldn't risk Merle giving it all away. She knew it was going to come with a revolt and more questions than she cared to answer.

Daryl nodded before walking into Nicole's tent. She zipped it back up and put her machete aside. Her line of sight caught him staring down at the single sleeping bag lying on the floor.

_Shit. I didn't think this through._

"I'll just..." he trailed off before sitting on the ground next to the bag.

Nicole shook her head and slipped herself into her sleeping bag. "Don't be stupid. This is big enough for both of us." she held it open for Daryl to slip in as well. He eyed it before following orders.

They lay on their backs, side by side, quite uncomfortably. "Thank you for staying." she said.

"Yer' welcome." he replied stiffly. "I just honestly don't feel you need me here. I didn't think anything scared you."

_Your brother does. _"It's nothing I can explain." she said. What would be the right thing to do at this time? She turned her head to face Daryl, who was still looking up at her tent. He was definitely planning on leaving as soon as she fell asleep.

Can't have that now, can we?

"Don't get mad at me for this." she softly requested.

Daryl turned his head towards her in confusion. He felt her hand wrap around his for a second. She lifted his arm over her shoulder so that she can lay her head on his chest. She felt him tense at the contact, but she went with it. Her other arm lay across his stomach. He hand brushed against a fresh bandage from the cut she gave him during their first encounter.

"How does it feel?"

"Hm?"

"The cut I gave you when we first met. Is it healing well?"

"Yea'. It doesn't bleed anymore." His voice was low and throaty.

"Good."

She knew there was no way he'd leave her abruptly if she fell asleep. Not like this. She'd deal with the repercussions in the morning. Merle had no idea who he was challenging.

In the midst of her thoughts, Daryl's entire body shifted to accommodate Nicole's. He wrapped both arms around her and rested his chin on her head.

"Goodnight, Nicole."

"...Goodnight, Daryl."

As she slipped into a deep sleep, she could've sworn she felt a soft kiss on her head followed with a soft but audible, "I won't let him near you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Alright, I didn't get all the reviews I wanted, but I couldn't help but post this for you guys anyway. =) I'm really glad to hear you guys like the pacing of the story, I almost felt I was going too slow and losing some of you! Please review and tell me what you think. Is it going well? Do you absolutely hate it? Should I just give up on this completely? Haha.


	6. Chapter 6: Wild Turkey

**Chapter 6: Wild Turkey**

Nicole sat on top of the RV and watched as the sun started to rise. She was rudely awaken by a snoring Dixon in the middle of the night. Her plan had worked; just a little too well. Merle didn't get a chance to tell Daryl a thing that night. This was because he was too busy swinging his leg over Nicole's entire form and using her as a body pillow.

It was very uncomfortable.

Her eyes started to glaze over when she heard someone climbing up to join her. She turned her head slightly and caught a glimpse of a fisherman's hat and graying beard.

"Good morning!" he said cheerfully.

She smiled at him. "Good moning, Dale." she yawned.

"I thought Rick was going to be up here this morning?"

"I couldn't sleep last night. He seemed really tired, I told him I'd take over."

"That was nice of you." He pulled up a fold-out chair and took a seat next her. "I always enjoyed rising with the sun. It's a new day. A small glimpse of...I don't know..."

"Of what used to be?" Nicole inquired.

"...Hope." He corrected. "We're all glad you're here, Nicole. You know that right? You don't have to prove anything to us."

"I wasn't trying to. I just don't want to be useless. You all have helped me," she started playing with a piece of thread hanging from her oversized hoodie. "I'm returning the favor."

Dale carefully took the rifle from Nicole's hands. "You are relieved from your duties, m'lady. You should get some sleep."

She rested her head against the back of her chair. "Mm, I would but Daryl is still in my tent." she mumbled.

Dale raised his eyebrow. "Is that right?"

She sat up a bit. "He just slept there. Merle was being a pain," she cleared her throat a bit. "nothing happened."

"I'm sure." Dale chuckled a little before changing the subject. "We're supposed to be on the move today."

"What?" Nicole asked, suddenly awake. "Where are we going?"

"Rick and Shane somehow got into contact with someone in Philadelphia."

"Philadelphia? We're going to drive all the way to Philadelphia? On what gas?" Nicole inquired.

"We've been doing well siphoning so far." Dale brushed off.

"But-...the distance-?"

"Nicole, I think we all know that it'll be close to impossible to get to Philadelphia just siphoning gas. But we need to keep moving. We need a plan. We need to look forward to something. Without all that, we're sitting ducks."

* * *

><p>Daryl awoke with a start. He turned on his back and stretched. It took him a second to take in his surroundings. This was not his tent. He looked to his side curiously. There was definitely another person in the bag with him the previous night.<p>

He wiped the sleep from his eyes with the palm of his hand before sitting up. Nicole's backpack lay in the corner of her tent, begging to be opened. He licked his lips before standing up walking towards it.

He hesitantly unbuckled the top and rifled through her belongings. Typical things he expected to find. Some ammo, hunting knives, rope, granola bars, and a photo album.

He took the photo album out and flipped to the first page. Little Nicole in ballet class. Little Nicole during various birthdays. Little Nicole on stage.

As he continued flipping, it got to Nicole in high school. It looked like she had starred in some school plays. Won some science fairs. Graduated. Went to the beach a lot.

He turned over the page and it showed more recent pictures. Her in college. Drinking with some friends. Her and some guy in a car. Her and some guy at a bar. Her and some guy in a classroom.

He turned the page quicker than he meant to and a little stack of notecards and polaroids fell out. He scrambled to pick them all up, terrified she would walk in at any moment. Before he could stuff them all up in the album, a polaroid and a corresponding notecard caught his eye. His mouth tightened as he looked through all of them. Deciding to keep them for now, he placed them in his pocket and carefully snuck the album back into her backpack.

Climbing out of her tent, he was met with a group of suspicious and unsuspecting eyes.

"Well good morning, Daryl." Rick greeted.

The amount of smug smiles directed at him was disturbing. He grunted and walked to his own tent.

Unzipping it, he found Merle still completely passed out with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He looked down at him before grabbing the whiskey and taking the last swig, swishing it around his mouth a bit, and swallowing. He took off his shirt and grabbed another one from his duffel bag.

"Mornin'."

Daryl turned to Merle, who was now awake. "Mornin'. How'd ya sleep?"

"Did you pound her yet?"

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Naw. I just went out for a bit last night."

"You develop some Asian fetish while I've been gone, son?" he teased.

"Let it go." He mumbled as he walked out.

As he started buttoning up his shirt, his eyes scanned the camp for Nicole. She was up on the RV, laughing with Dale.

"Eggs?" Lori asked.

"Eggs? We celebratin' or something?" He asked, glancing at Nicole every now and then.

"Turns out we had some from Hershel's farm. They're still delicious." Glenn said, his mouth full of yolk.

As Daryl sat down next to Andrea, he looked up once more, squinting at Nicole. Andrea noticed and elbowed him.

"Ow, what?"

"You could at least attempt at being more subtle. Think she'd appreciate you staring at her like that all the time?"

"Why do you care?" he asked begrudgingly.

"Because I see how you two look at each other. I see that you keep her all to yourself. I see that the second she's alone, you approach her."

Daryl took a large bite of his eggs, not making eye contact with the girl next to him.

"I also know that nothing happened between you two last night. I caught you sneaking into her tent."

"How do you know nothing happened?" he asked, unfazed by her deductions.

"My tent is right next to hers. You don't think I would've heard something?"

"What's your point?" He asked wearily.

"It's the end of the world. And you still can't make one goddamn move?"

"Since when do you care about what goes on with the group? Aren't you supposed to Lil Miss Hard Ass or somethin'?" Daryl mocked.

"Yeah. A girl's gotta have her fun though, right?" she smiled and continued to eat her eggs.

Daryl's hand rested against the hard surface of his pocket. It crinkled under his fingers and he was brought back to reality.

There was something Nicole wasn't telling the rest of the group.

And he sure as hell was going to find-

"Smells good down here!"

Nicole was climbing down the RV as Dale assisted her. The sun hit her in a way that rendered Daryl helpless. It was a feeling he was unfamiliar with.

"Help yourself, honey. We also have some butter and toast!" Lori offered.

"You've prepared us a feast!" Nicole smiled and rolled up her sleeves. She handed a plate to Dale and kept one for herself. They conversed as Daryl continued to stare.

Andrea's words, as well as past encounters with Nicole, skimmed through his mind. What was it about her that he felt drawn to? In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, all he can think about was her. How to keep her safe.

Which he would never let _anyone_ know. Especially her. In the short time he knew her, he saw that no one had to keep Nicole safe. She kept herself safe. Which was admirable.

_You fag._

He felt an elbow to the rib.

"Shit! What?" He snapped at Andrea again.

"You are borderline Jeffery Dahmer right now. Stop. Staring."

* * *

><p>The crew was in the middle of packing all of their things to get on the road to Philadelphia. Nicole didn't have much to pack so she offered to siphon some gas from an abandoned road not too far out. She brought her machete, which hung from her belt. It was a lot easier to wander around with two free hands.<p>

She stopped at a car and placed the pump inside the tank. She looked around as she started filling up the carrier. It was a strangely beautiful day.

An old habit started surfacing as she hummed a showtune to herself. Seemed as if the spirit of Barbara Streisand was taking over.

Little did she know, someone was enjoying the show she was putting on.

Daryl followed closely behind her. Glenn offered to join her, but Daryl had already put on his crossbow and didn't give him a chance to leave. As he leaned against a car, he couldn't help the smile creeping on his face. He had never seen her like this before. There was still something innocent and pure in there.

It was something he hadn't seen in a while.

It was almost virginal.

Nicole was so distracted by her musical number that she didnt realize her tank over flowing. She scrambled to remove the pipe. He heard her mumble a few curse words before unscrewing her second tank.

He started applauding. Nicole turned sharply towards him, wide eyed and mouth open.

"Daryl! Where the hell did you come from?" She yelled.

"I wanted to get some hunting done," he lied. "thought I could keep something in our cooler." As he approached Nicole, he decided to keep a tough exterior. He was going to get to the bottom of what he found in her bag.

"Did you enjoy the show?" She asked with a faint smile as she worked to fill up the second tank.

"Yea'. You're very talented." he complimented.

"I wanted to be on Broadway when I was in high school," she started. "it was this guilty dream I used to have."

He moved forward a bit more and put his hands in his pocket. He felt the polaroids and cards scratching against his hand. He bit his lip.

"But, knowing that wasn't practical, I applied to college and decided to go for my second passion..." She turned her head and smiled at Daryl. "...science."

"A huge difference."

"Yeah. My mother insisted on me being well rounded. My experiments were notorious for being pretty damn brilliant...albeit, a little bit dangerous." She concentrated on the gas flowing through the tube as guilt started hooding her eyes.

"I need to ask you something." he asked, his voice slightly above a whisper.

"I was once told that I was going to unintentionally create some sort of...weapon of mass destruction." she forced a chuckle.

"I found something when I woke up this morning..."

"How do you even unintentionally create something like that...?"

" … 'found' may not be the right word..."

"No human being would intentionally create a monster right?"

"...see, your bag had fallen open..."

Nicole ignored him completely as she pulled the tube out and screwed the tank back up. She lifted up both tanks and raised her eyes at Daryl.

"I really appreciated you spending the night with me." she said. "I know you probably didn't want to deal with that. I promise it won't happen again."

There wasn't much he could do in his position. Nicole had just revealed more to him than he was sure she intended to.

He suddenly forgot about the evidence in his pocket. He started leaning in when Nicole put down the tanks and went to open her messenger bag.

"You should let me take you out for a drink," she happily pulled out half a bottle of Wild Turkey 101. "you know, to show my appreciation."

He eyed the bottle hungrily and smiled a crooked smile at Nicole. "Take a shot with me?" He took the bottle and unscrewed the top off.

"Ah, ah!" She stopped him and took the bottle away, much to his dismay. "This? This is for tonight."

"What's tonight?"

"We gotta have something to look forward to, right?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **You guys have no idea how much I love getting those email alerts on my phone. A new reviewer, a new subscriber...it makes my day in hell- i mean...work...so much better.

LostKiwi: So, I loved reading your extra long review. I woke up at 6am in the morning, dreading work, but that at least made me smile. =) I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Secretly, I am hoping they give Daryl some sort of interest, even if it's unsaid and more fleeting. I want to see that hick squirm.

Jaybird: GURRRLLLLL, thank you!

laisvega: I'm waiting for Merle to appear in the series again! I want him to cause some trouble. =)

Finally, I'm so glad you all like the character of Nicole too. I tried to make her tough but let's face it, she's gotta be somewhat vulnerable right? I'm not here to write a Bella character. I'm here to write a Hermione character. ;)

Please keep reviewing! It drives me to write more! And those beeps I get on my phone always make me smile.


	7. Chapter 7: You're Going to Need it

**Chatper 7: You're Going to Need it.**

"Well," Nicole started as she watched the men fickle with the RV's engine. "that didn't last very long.

"Get used to it, girl." Andrea shook her head, smiling.

Darkness was about to fall when Dale's RV broke down. Watching them bicker over who was right couldn't have been more entertaining.

Daryl walked over from his motorcycle and wiped off the excess sweat from his brow. He then unbuttoned one more button from his sleeveless flannel shirt to air himself out.

Well, ok. There may have been one more thing she could've found more entertaining.

"It's a blown head gasket." She stated, her eyes still on Daryl. When he gave her his attention, she stood her ground.

"I told you." Glenn mumbled.

"Man, shut up!" Shane snapped.

Nicole refused to look away. She wasn't sure what came over her, but it was possible that those three shots of Turkey 101 were hitting her. As the bickering continued, the two stood on opposite sides of the war, having a stare down. His mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to stay something, but it closed again.

"Might as well set up camp here," Lori drawled. "those boys are not going to fix this tonight."

"So how much further to Philadelphia?" Nicole smirked, still staring at Daryl. She heard Andrea and Lori giggle before leaving her be.

She tilted her head slightly and smiled at him. Daryl looked around to make sure they weren't putting on a show before setting his gaze back at her.

She started to walk away, looping her thumb around the strap of her bag. "I'm going to go look around for some supplies we may need."

"Are you sure that's the bes-" Lori started but was interrupted by Andrea's halting hand.

The two women watched Nicole walked away...Daryl close behind.

* * *

><p>"Are you ready?" Nicole asked.<p>

"I was born ready, girl."

The two kept their gaze on each other until Nicole finally yelled, "GO!"

Daryl threw his head back with the bottle of whiskey emptying down his throat. He took five full gulps before giving up and wiping his mouth.

"Almost half," Nicole commented. "I'm impressed."

"If we were at an actual bar, I would drink you under the table." Daryl slurred a little.

"Is that a promise?" she asked softly, with undertones of amusement. Nicole started circling her finger around the opening of the bottle. The both sat across from each other as she leaned against a tree.

"You wouldn't last an hour where I'm from, girl." he said. "You may be all (hiccup) rough and shit out here, but the guys I knew would eat you up."

"You're drunk."

"You're sexy."

She started giggling at how ridiculous they both sounded. As she caught her breath, she noticed Daryl was dead quiet. She was worried for a millisecond that he heard walkers headed their way.

"How much is left?" he asked, sounding as sober as he did before she poured alcohol down his throat.

She leaned forward, a bit closer to him, and looked down between her legs where she rest the bottle. "There should be about one more shot left."

"D'ya want it?" He asked.

"Oh, I've had enough." she shook her head. "It's all yours."

He reached between her legs and slowly pulled the bottle out. One of his hands rested on her knee. He started stroking it with his thumb and he leaned in closely. "Are you sure?" he whispered.

Nicole could smell the whiskey from his breath. It was intoxicating.

Literally.

She put her hand to his cheek and reveled the feeling of his stubble under her fingers. Daryl suddenly turned his head and softly kissed the palm of her hand. He continued to kiss up to her wrist and trailed his tongue to the inside of her forearm. With unexpected force, he pulled her in and began kissing and nibbling at her neck.

Nicole held him close, her fingers tangled in his mussed up hair. Uncrossing her legs, she started wrapping them around his waist. He welcomed the invitation and held her close. She manipulated their bodies so that she was on top. Before their lips could meet, he rolled her over again, keeping the bottle of whiskey still in tact.

She looked up at him, confused. He straddled her, his eyes somehow darker, overcome with drunken lust. Daryl started kissing her chest. He slid her tank top up to expose her entire abdomen. He started making little circles with the tip of his tongue. He felt her take a deep breath as he kept teasing her, kissing along the waistband of her jeans.

Taking the bottle of whiskey in his hand, he slowly started pouring it on her stomach, amused at her reaction to the liquid. He started lapping it all up, slowly, awakening every single muscle in her body. She grabbed his hair, begging him to stop teasing.

"Come here." she commanded.

"I'm not done." he mumbled. He kissed right below her belly button before handing her half a shot. "Drink this." He requested.

Nicole sat up with her elbows as she took the bottle from him, still feeling a little shaky.

"You're going to need it." he smirked before she felt the button of her jeans come undone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I'm sorry for the delay, but college and adult life has been keeping me busy. ...Being a grown-up is stupid. On the bright side...PLEASE don't lose respect for me as I mutate into a fan girl. LISTEN TO MY STORY:

_**Norman Reedus has followed me on twitter.**_Now I know he's been doing that to some of his fans lately, so I just thought _"Cool, he took the time to click "follow" next to my name"_. But alas, Norman continued to amaze me. I tweeted shortly before he followed me: "Late thursday night means Guiness and Boondock Saints. When I grow up and become Irish, I want to be Boondock Saint."

HE MESSAGED ME BACK REPLYING: **we could use more saints.**

Me (after initial shock...which lasted about 2 hours): **but i'm not irish.**

Norman: **you can stay in the getaway car.**

ME: **fair enough.**

...JESUS. CHRIST. I feel like the biggest dork in the world. Of course it happened at work where all my co-workers made fun of me. Did I mention I work as a bartender at a comedy club? I'm surrounded by men. No one would understand!

But this is the event that transpired me to write another chapter. It's short, but I hope worth your read. I also hope you all review and tell me what you think about the intimacy that's been introduced between the two. =)


	8. Chapter 8: Curiosity

**Chapter 8: Curiosity**

"Son of a bitch," Nicole mumbled under her breath, walking as fast as she can.

"Don't blame it on me!" Daryl exclaimed a little too loudly, following behind her.

"Aw you two kids need to slow down!" Merle called out, stifling a laugh. "I don't want to get lost again!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Come here." she commanded.<em>

"_I'm not done." he mumbled. He kissed right below her belly button before handing her half a shot. "Drink this." He requested._

_Nicole sat up with her elbows as she took the bottle from him, still feeling a little shaky._

"_You're going to need it." he smirked before she felt the button of her jeans come undone._

_She quickly downed the remainder of the drink and laid back down, expecting a wave of pleasure to crash over her. She felt Daryl pull her jeans down and his stubble rub against her inner thigh. She closed her eyes when his fingers trailed up and tugged at the waistband of her underwear._

"_Boy howdy. Mighty dangerous of you two to be doing that here now, ain't it?"_

_Nicole had never put on her clothes as fast as she just did. Daryl and her stood at attention, fixing themselves up like a couple of catholic school teenagers who had just been caught in the janitor's closet._

"_Merle?" Daryl asked. "What in the hell are you doing here?"_

"_Came lookin' for you two," he dragged and moved closer. "But I reckon you were doin' just fine."_

_Nicole crossed her arms over her chest, trying to mask her embarrassment. Out of all the people who could've been looking for them, it had to be Merle._

"_The crew was wonderin' what was taking y'all so long," he explained, as his eyes caught an empty bottle of whiskey. He went to pick it up. "I offered to save you." His eyes narrowed at the bottle in his hands._

_Daryl turned around to pick up his crossbow in frustration. "We were doin' just fine."_

"_I can see that."_

_Nicole sighed in exasperation and swung her bag over her shoulder. _

"_Don't get huffy with me, girly." Merle grinned. Daryl's lips pursed as he followed Nicole's trail. He briefly stopped in front of Merle and eyed him._

"_Ooh. If looks could kill." Merle teased. "Gonna get all hissy on me too, boy?" He playfully hissed like a cat._

_Daryl shook his head and walked past him._

* * *

><p>"I'm not blaming anything on you." Nicole said, cutting down the thick shrubbery around them. "It could've been a lot worse."<p>

"Yea'? And how's that?"

"Well," she started. "he could've not said anything and just watched."

"Yer' filthy."

"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment." Nicole smirked to herself and tried to ignore the lingering feeling of Daryl's touch. She wasn't sure if the feeling came from knowing that he may actually be the last decent (single) man standing or...

If she was going to be completely honest with herself, she was attracted to Daryl like a magnetl. That was a given. See-sawing with her feelings about him was useless.

Guess this wasn't about survival anymore.

Once they got back to camp, she ignored the quizzical faces and decided to set up her tent. She could feel Daryl's eyes on her as he set up his own tent. From the subtle sways, she could tell the whiskey was still in his system.

"We gon' talk about who you were before you found the Justice League?"

Nicole sighed heavily and set the last rod in place before standing up. She turned to find that smug shit-eating grin that she associated Merle with, even in the short time she's known him.

"Listen girly, I care about my little brother-"

She snorted in disbelief.

Merle continued. "-and you are oversteppin' your boundaries."

Her mouth dropped. "Excuse me? I'm overstepping MY boundaries?" She stepped dangerously close to him. "You're the one who's blackmailing me."

"That offer still stands, by the way." He smiled suggestively.

"I wouldn't have thought you were one to care about boundaries, Dixon. If you have something to say, say it."

"But it's so much more fun this way. Just having it loom over yer' head like a dark cloud. I guess you should know one thing," His eyes darted from her to past her and she could've sworn his smile grew a centimeter wider. "Everyone will eventually know about you. You should've gotten Daryl to man up sooner. Yer' running out of time."

"What kind of sick pleasure are you getting from this?" She vehemently whispered. "I am helping this group. Unlike you," she made a point to look at his missing hand. "I'm not dead weight."

"We'll see how much they appreciate you help." He whispered before turning his back and walking away from her.

She shook her head in frustration and turned to unpack in her tent. Her peripherals caught sight of Daryl standing at attention, staring at the conversation that Merle and herself just had. His face was scrunched up in worry and anger. She blinked and disappeared inside her tent.

The last thing she expected was Daryl to come in.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"Care to knock sometime?"

He smirked and looked around her tent. "On what?"

Nicole rummaged through her backpack as Daryl eyed it. He was brought back to reality. Sticking his hand in his pocket, he felt the paper between his fingers. He puffed up his chest slightly.

"I needa' talk to you." His voice got slightly deeper.

Nicole sighed. "I need to talk to you too." She found a hair band in her bag and tied her hair up in a ponytail before standing up.

"-I found something that you really need to explain-"

Before Daryl knew it, Nicole's arms were wrapped around his neck and immersed herself in his lips. His eyes were widened in surprise. He didn't kiss back; he was frozen.

She let him go and turned her back towards him casually. She started unpacking again.

He blinked a couple of times before watching her, wide-eyed. "That's it?" He responded. "After...after what happened out there...that's all yer' gonna do?"

"And now both of our curiosities are satisfied." Nicole replied.

"I wouldn't say that." he mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothin'. Look will you just listen to me, woman? I need to ask you somethin'."

"Ask away." she granted, her back still turned.

He took a deep breath. "You've been...a great asset to this group. Now, I'm not questionin' that. Yer' smart as hell. And I know I ain't the only one who's noticed. With all this neurology shit...I just wanna know...I mean...I'm not tryna' accuse anyone of..." As he searched for the words to end his ramble, he looked up at Nicole and realized it was a lost cause.

She was standing in front of him. Completely topless.

"...Goddamn it."

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><p><strong>AN: **Sorry for the late update. I loved reading the sporadic little reminders via reviews that I do need to add another chapter. So I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Please let me know what you all think. My favorite part of being part of this site! =)

New chapter will be up sooner rather than later (hopefully) but I'll be in New York this week for my internship. While I'll have my laptop with me, I don't know how much time I'll have to write. I'm sure insomnia will kick in. Just like every night.


	9. Chapter 9: What is Seldom

**Chapter 9: What is Seldom**

"What does it say?" Daryl asked as he watched Nicole searched for her shirt. He trailed his finger down her spine, following the tattooed script.

"An rud is annamh is íontach." Nicole replied in perfect Irish Gaelic.

"What does that mean?"

Nicole stood up and pulled her shirt over her head. She turned to Daryl, and smiled before moving to straddle him. "'What is seldom is wonderful.' It's an Irish proverb."

"What language is that?" He tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Gaelic."

"You speak Gaelic?"

"I pretend to speak Gaelic. In all reality, that's the only phrase I know."

"So yer' not full Filipino? Irish too?"

"Far from it. It's an Irish proverb I appreciate. I thought it should be kept in it's original language." She explained, softly kissing his lips before getting off.

"I just seem to be learning more and more about you, Ramos."

"I know you are." she replied softly, bending over to retrieve something from her backpack. "That's what I was afraid of." Before Daryl knew it, Nicole had a small hand gun pointed at him.

Daryl didn't flinch. He blinked at the gun and sighed.

"How long have you known?" she asked.

Daryl sat up. "I've been trying to talk to ya about it."

Nicole scoffed. "What? When?"

"Whenever I tried to you would do somethin' like...distractin' me with whiskey. Or...takin' off yer shirt."

"Have you and Merle been plotting to blackmail me? All this time?"

"Merle?" Daryl asked in genuine confusion. "I found out two days ago."

"Because you went into my bag. Daryl, there are some things that are better off not being said. My past being one of them." she lowered her gun. "The others can't know about this. There's no reason for them to."

Daryl started putting himself together. "Nicolette Ramosian. That's your full name right?" He pulled his pants up and began to tie his laces. "Asian. 23 years old. Black hair. Brown eyes..." Daryl stood up at full attention and walked towards Nicole slowly. He finished buttoning his shirt before he finished his sentence. "...Secret Agent?"

Nicole snorted. "Please. Don't turn this into some cheesy Vin Diesel movie. I'm not some secret agent. Don't make this a big deal."

"Then what are you? Where did you come from? I deserve to know."

Nicole signed before crossing her arms. "During college, I was recruited into in a Black Ops program called Blackguard. I wasn't an _agent,_" she said quickly when she saw Daryl about to open his mouth. "I worked in the lab as a neurobiologist." She paused and Daryl noticed her voice shake a bit. She cleared her throat before continuing. "You know all that controversy that used to be out there about stem cell research?" Her sarcastic, light-hearted tone was back, much to his relief. "Well, the whole thing with stem cells is that they can basically be used to re-generate dead cells. They wanted me to run the research on neurogenesis. Which...is a method that can be used to re-grow dead brain tissue." She trailed off to wait for his response. Refusing to make eye contact, she concentrated on his elbow.

After what seemed like a lifetime of silence, he finally spoke in a low growl. "What did you do?"

"What do you think I did?" She responded. Her defenses were up. "I did what I was told to do. I did what I was damn good at."

"Yer' the reason for all of this?"

"Blackguard needed a secret weapon. Firearms and agents that might as well have been trained by Jackie Chan and James Bond weren't enough. There used to be a terrorist group that Blackguard could not seem to bring down. The more we failed, the stronger they became. The main plan was to let this virus that my team and I created loose into their headquarters. Let them be their own worst enemy." She finally looked up at Daryl. His jaw was clenched. "But while we were finalizing the experiment, a double agent let the virus loose into our own home. During the escape...there was no way to contain it."

Daryl's jaw clenched even more if it was possible. His arms were crossed and his knuckles were white with fury.

"So there's your signed confession, Scooby." Nicole concluded. "I'm the reason that the world is ending. Now you and Merle can go off and tell everyone. It's for the best. I don't want to endanger you all anymore."

"Anymore? You've already bent us over a table."'

"That double agent? Gone rogue. I killed everyone he ever knew. Everyone he loved. He's after me."

"What makes you think he's gon' find you?"

"Daryl, I don't need to explain anything anymore. In fact I've explained way too much for-"

"-Shut up." he interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"Shut. Up. It's a sad day in the end of the world when I'm the one who's gotta be the voice o' reason." Daryl walked towards her. "The last thing you need is to be left alone. I'm makin' this promise to you right now Nicole Ramos, or whatever yer name is." He took her arms to uncross them and put them at her sides. "I ain't lettin' anyone hurt you."

As Nicole tried to read Daryl's eyes, she knew that he was telling the truth. She chuckled lightly. "You're getting soft on me, Dixon."

"Never felt that when I'm around ya'." He smirked at his own dirty joke.

"Was that really appropriate?"

Daryl grabbed her roughly towards him and gave her a hard kiss. He loosened up his grip on her when she attempted to wrap her arms around his neck. As they pulled away, she felt a corny sort of bliss take over.

This definitely wasn't about surviving anymore.

"So," She asked, twirling her fingers around his brown muss of hair. "Does this mean you like me, or something?"

"I'm just territorial. Don't get those panties in twist." he tried to hold back a smile.

"There's that charming panty line again."

"Yea'. And this time you can't say that I had any effect on 'em. Speaking of which," he let go of her and bent over to grab something. He backed up towards the opening of her tent.

Holding up her panties, he silently put them in his pocket and winked before making his exit.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thanks to everyone who's been adding this story on their alerts and their favorites. It's pretty flattering. I've been getting short with the chapters, I know and I'm sorry! But you guys finally know what her secret is! =)

Also, for St. Patrick's Day, it seems like some friends and I are going to be getting our Irish on with some Guinness, Jameson, and a Boondock Saints marathon. I guess I'm just a big ol' masochist. It's going to kill me to watch my boy Norman on screen. I just want to hold his hand. haha

You guys know the drill. I love reading every single review on here so please keep them coming! The more reviews I get, the faster these chapters will be put up. =)


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